


Hopeful

by syzaw



Series: The Journey [3]
Category: Heroes (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-03 21:50:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12155478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syzaw/pseuds/syzaw
Summary: Peter had assigned Sylar the job of protecting Mohinder while he traveled to do a number of interviews to find more people to work for the company. He had been assigned to work with Mohinder once in the past, but it didn't work out very well. Mohinder ended up leaving and completing the job on his own. This time now that there were only the two of them he knew that he wasn't going anywhere. He finally had his chance to speak to him after years of wanting to.





	Hopeful

Peter had assigned Sylar the job of protecting Mohinder while he traveled to do a number of interviews to find more people to work for the company. He had been assigned to work with Mohinder once in the past, but it didn't work out very well. Mohinder ended up leaving and completing the job on his own. This time now that there were only the two of them he knew that he wasn't going anywhere. He finally had his chance to speak to him after years of wanting to.

  
Sylar waited hoping that he'd be acknowledged first. After all, he killed this man's father. He didn't want to be pushy. It became clear, however, that Mohinder did not wish to speak to him. It had been days and he had done most of the interviews while Sylar stood there in silence. This was the last one and his last chance so he decided to speak up first, "Hey."

  
"Yes?" There was a clear hint of anger in his voice.

  
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Sylar sighed and hoped for a decent reaction so that he could continue on with the speech that he had rehearsed to himself a thousand times over in his head.

  
"okay." Mohinder was annoyed, but it wasn't too bad of a reaction so he decided to continue.

  
"I've been working really hard on myself and I know what I did was inexcusable and I'm sorry that i hurt you and your family and-"

  
"I'm not giving you the satisfaction of  being forgiven." Mohinder interrupted. Okay nevermind he sounded pissed

.  
Sylar decided to speak again, not wanting to leave everything unsaid, "O-"

  
"I don't know why Peter wanted this. Just do your job and let's get this over with. I don't like the idea of you knowing where these people live and if anything happens I will hunt you down personally." The sentence ended with him shouting and Sylar noticed his hands shaking with anger on the steering wheel. There was a slight dent in it, likely caused by his enhanced strength. He looked away and heard Mohinder take a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

  
Sylar pulled his legs up on to the chair to sit in a cross-legged position and took his phone out of his pocket, "Okay." He fiddled with his phone for the rest of the drive, not actually doing much of anything. The silence was tense and Mohinder didn't seem interested in putting any music on. Sylar wouldn't put it past him to make the silence as uncomfortable as possible in an attempt to punish him.

  
The drive was long, likely a few hours. He waited until the final stretch to try again, they were very close so if the silence got even more uncomfortable it wouldn't be for very long, "What can I do to make up for it?"

  
Mohinder sighed loudly "I don't know...you can prove that you've changed. Actions speak louder than words." His grip tightened on the steering wheel and he shifted his body a bit as if to move even farther away from the man sitting next to him.

  
"It's been three years since I last did anything...maybe even longer... and I've been working with the company. My actions prove that I am capable of change."

  
"I..don't know what to say." Mohinder sounded uncomfortable. He felt bad for making him uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to let him get away with trying to say that he hadn't changed.

  
"Of course." Sylar put his phone away and sighed, "Look. I know that the things ive done were inexcusable. I know that I have hurt and destroyed so many lives and you may never forgive me. I get it. I don't deserve the satisfaction, you're right. But...I am trying. I am working my hardest to protect and help people. Even if you don't want to see it I really have changed. You don't have to forgive me but stop pretending it's because I'm still a monster. Like you have to protect people from me now. If I could go back in time and undo everything I've done I would in a heartbeat. I just..." He put his head in his hands, "I don't know what else I can do...I wish we could go back to that road trip. When we got along and you were happy to continue your research and everything was so much simpler...But I also wish it had never happened and that I never tricked you..I don't know.."

  
"I...um...I didn't know that trip meant so much to you." Mohinder's voice was barely audible.

  
"Well..." Sylar looked up, "This sounds..pathetic but I've never had friends before..or any kind of normal life. Even before my abilities... It was nice to be able to pretend for a while."

  
"It's not pathetic, though I'll admit I never expected something like that to have bothered you."

  
Sylar began to laugh "Despite my faults, I'm still human. We all crave companionship at some point in our lives." He had only just noticed that the car was no longer moving and they had arrived at their destination. It seems that they might have been there for a while, but Mohinder had more interest in continuing the conversation than interviewing the last candidate. That was new.

  
"Ugh" Mohinder groaned he looked at Sylar, "We'll talk more later, I...have to think." And before Sylar could even respond he exited the car and headed toward the direction of the house. Talk later? That sounded like a good plan.

  
He entered the house not long after Mohinder had and heard a loud gasp and some shuffling that caused him to drop into a defensive fighting pose. "What is HE doing here?" he turned to the source of the noise to see a young woman holding a baseball bat. The woman seemed to be enraged, but there was a little bit of fear hiding in there. He carefully dropped his defensive stance in an attempt to deescalate the situation. Perhaps if he looked less intimidating she would be less interested in fighting.

  
"I'm sorry that we did not notify you about him, this man is here to make sure we stay safe. I'm sure you can understand the nature of the things we're about to speak about and how dangerous it can be." Mohinder approached her cautiously and tried to reassure her, "We're just here to talk as we said, If you'd prefer he can wait outside."

  
The woman narrowed her eyes and looked between Mohinder and Sylar uncertainly, "I heard of him before." she pointed the bat toward Sylar accusingly, "Seen him years ago." She turned to look at Mohinder "What does the company have to do with this piece of shit?" She shook the bat aggressively toward him the last words of her sentence for emphasis.

  
Sylar flinched, each word and her reaction stinging as if they were physical blows. He opened his mouth about to yell back but then closed it, realizing that it would just make matters worse. After all, she was making a good point. He shouldn't have ever been given a job with the company considering what he's done. The phrase piece of shit fit him quite well. It was then that Mohinder placed a hand on his shoulder, surprising him, "I know it seems strange and perhaps even scary, but this man has been incredibly beneficial to the company. He was one of the people who helped in the carnival situation we spoke to you about. If you're uncomfortable I will ask him to wait for me outside while we begin the interview." He spoke calmly and slowly. Sylar really admired his cool head and how quickly he seemed to find the right words.

  
"And you're Dr. Suresh?" She lowered the bat slowly and her shoulders relaxed.

  
"Yes. I believe Mr.Petrelli sent you a picture of me for confirmation?" He smiled, Sylar felt that he could probably talk just about anyone out of a crisis with just a few words. How did he get so good at it?

  
The woman nodded "Yeah. I seen the picture and I know all about you. You're a good guy." She pointed the bat at Sylar again, "You  can stay but no funny business."

  
Sylar put on a fake smirk and raised his arms calmly, "Gotcha." He said in a mocking tone, pretending that the incident hadn't affected him in any way. Once she put the bat away he stationed himself near a window, making sure to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.

  
He tuned the woman's voice out and just focused on Mohinder's words. It was all pretty standard questions with the occasional unusual one thrown in that reminded everyone how different the world was with abilities, but he liked listening anyway. The way he spoke, his accent, his choice of words, everything was so calming to him. He was suddenly hyper aware of how attracted he was to him. An attraction that he had been aware of and suppressing ever since the road trip they took together. An attraction that he didn't really understand yet.

  
He hadn't spoken at all and just let Mohinder finish and then leave the house when he was instructed to do so. Sylar sat cross legged in the seat, waiting for them to leave. After a few minutes of silence he wondered if Mohinder had something to say and why they weren't leaving right away, "Thank you..."

  
"You're welcome." Was the only response he got. They barely spoke on the way back but the silence didn't feel tense. In fact, it felt quite comfortable to him now that he vouched for him and defended him. He fully expected him to agree and kick him out. When Mohinder dropped him off at home he could have sworn that he saw him smile. Perhaps he really will forgive him some day.


End file.
